Joey's Take: A History Lesson

With every breath they take, every move they make and every vow they break, Congress and the president are proving how much they need a herding dog like me to police them – and keep them out of our pockets and the business of local government.

Last week, President Obama strayed out of the federal fence again when he weighed in on the fact that the Virginia governor’s traditional proclamation of April as Confederate History Month did not mention slavery, calling it “an unacceptable omission.” The incident serves as “a reminder that when we talk about issues like slavery that are so fraught with pain and emotion, that, you know, we'd better do so thinking through how this is going to affect a lot of people,” the president added (The Washington Times).

But Gov. McDonnell was not talking about slavery. He was talking about a war that started 150 years ago this month, that turned brother against brother and that almost destroyed this nation. Like it or not, that war – in and of itself – is a defining chapter in our country’s history. It is still the subject of college courses, movies, documentaries and books, many of which focus on personal narratives, military strategies and the politics at play, not on slavery. And here in Virginia, which is home to more than its share of Civil War battlefields and monuments, the war means business – and jobs. Real jobs, that is, for both black and white.

Contrary to what the president and media would have you believe, the proclamation is not a celebration of the war or slavery. Although it now includes an obligatory reference to slavery, the intent of the proclamation is that this part of “Virginia’s history should not be forgotten, but instead should be studied, understood and remembered by all Virginians, both in the context of the time in which it took place, but also in the context of the time in which we live.”

It’s a lesson the president and Congress should take to heart. By studying the years leading up to the war – years marked by an increasingly divided nation, a political battle for states’ rights and an onslaught of nullification efforts – they could take the steps necessary to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

I’m Joey. I’m running for Congress. And I approved this message.

The Beginning of Hope

If you don't live in Virginia or New Jersey, you may not have caught the ray of hope that is beginning to dawn on the conservative horizon. Both states have off-year gubernatorial elections. And voters in both states so far are throwing their support to conservatives.

In Virginia, the glimmer paved the way for state Sen. Creigh Deeds, a conservative Democrat, to leave two liberal opponents stumbling in the dark as he raced past them in the primary this week -- despite being outspent, outgunned, out-endorsed and outnamed. Deeds captured 50 percent of the vote while Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Democratic Party operative, got 26 percent and the early favorite Brian Moran pulled in nearly 24 percent.

You may be familiar with McAuliffe. He's the one who engineered the Clinton coffees at the White House and the "renting out" of the Lincoln bedroom. McAuliffe, who had chaired Hillary's presidential campaign, came to the Virginia race late. In fact, he reportedly wanted to run for governor in Florida until he found out he had to live there seven years first. Despite his late entrance, he raised millions more than his opponents -- much of it from Hollywood -- and had several in-person endorsements from President Clinton.

Moran, who ran to the left of McAuliffe, comes from a prominent political family and has served in the state assembly. He also got the endorsement of the Kennedy clan. He was seen as the golden candidate until McAuliffe's candidacy bumped him off course.

But in the end, Virginia Democrats set their hopes on the conservative -- the one candidate who would not agree with President Obama on many of his policies. They told the Clintons, the Kennedys and even Hollywood, "No thanks." They proved Virginia is not as purple as the liberals would like you to believe.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, Republican challenger Chris Christie is coming on strong against incumbent Jon Corzine with taxes, particularly property taxes, and the economy playing as the biggest issues. Some pundits see President Obama as Corzine's only hope to retain his seat. But will the president risk his cache by campaigning for an incumbent who could lose?

Hope is dawning. And we're not even through the first six months of the Democratic reign.

Forget the Obituary

A lot of media, driven by liberal wishful thinkers, have been busy writing an obituary for the Republican Party. They would have you believe that the party has boxed itself into a corner of the Deep South and today only appeals to a handful of intolerant, vindictive, religious, anti-immigrant, anti-intellectual, women-hating, gun-toting elderly nuts.

But to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of the party's death have been greatly exaggerated -- as has the death mask the Democrats have tried to plaster on Republicans.

We were at a rally this weekend in which a Republican announced his candidacy for governor of Virginia. What was amazing was who was at the Saturday morning rally. Yes, there were white guys -- and women -- and plenty of retired military. There also were Hispanics, African Americans, Vietnamese, Chinese, South Koreans and Philippinos. There were little kids, teenagers, college students, yuppies, families, "middlers" and retirees. There were people whose roots went back to the founding of the country and those who had recently arrived here. There were blue-collar workers, housewives, homeschoolers, lawyers, small business owners, scientists and other professionals.

The talk that morning wasn't hateful or spiteful. Instead, it was full of hope, of bringing back fiscal responsibility, of restoring faith in the future for all Virginians, of honoring life, of recognizing personal responsibility. The energy and promise in that room was testimony that conservatism is very much alive and well in America.